Conservation Status of Crayfish Species Paddlefish Conservation ...

Tennessee-Kentucky, a 65,000-hectare reservoir
on the lower Tennessee River; therefore,
the dMA was particularly interested in
any stock assessments of the Kentucky Lake
population.
When national attention began to focus
on the Kentucky Lake fishery early in this
century, little was known about the status of
paddlefish in the Tennessee River. University
researchers had assessed the age structure, size
structure, and commercial exploitation of
paddlefish in Kentucky Lake in the 1980s and
early 1990s (Hoffnagle and Timmons 1989;
Timmons and Hughbanks 2000), but no fishery
independent data were collected in those
studies, and little information existed other
than numbers of fish harvested in the years
between 1999 and 2003. In the absence of
stock assessment data, the dMA is supposed
to deny export permits, and some permits from
Tennessee were denied in recent years (Marie
Maltese; dMA; pers. comm.). It was clear
to regulatory parties (i.e., dMA, Tennessee
Wildlife Resources Agency [TWRA]) in 2001
that a stock assessment should be conducted
at the earliest opportunity.
This article summarizes our stock assessment
activities and the strategies we employed
to convey our recommendations to the fishing
industry, TWRA biologists, and the governing
board of the TWRA, the Tennessee Wildlife
Resources Commission (TWRC). We discuss
what regulations were and were not enacted
by the TWRC, and how a compromise was
eventually reached to balance the state’s
mandate to conserve fisheries resources with
the legitimate economic interests of private
businesses. Finally, we discuss what the future
might hold for Tennessee paddlefish in light
of recent harvest trends.
StudY area and the
COmmerCiaL FiSherY
Kentucky Lake is the last impoundment
on the Tennessee River before its confluence
with the Ohio River (Figure 1). The lacustrine,
downlake reach of the reservoir provides
excellent habitat for paddlefish; whereas, the
narrow, riverine headwaters serve as ideal fishing
grounds for commercial fishers deploying
gill nets during the winter and spring spawning
migrations.
Before 2002, fishers harvesting paddlefish
were required to possess a commercial fishing
license (US$125) and a free paddlefish
permit. The season ran from 1 November
through 23 April and there were no quotas
or other harvest restrictions other than a 813mm
eye-fork-length (EFL) minimum length
Figure 1. Kentucky lake, a mainstream impoundment on the lower Tennessee River, is where most of the
paddlefish harvested in Tennessee originate.
when river conditions are right, paddlefish
are easily harvested in the tennessee river,
as demonstrated by Patsy Cornelius and deb
blackwelder. Photo by Cory goldsworthy.
Fisheries • vol 32 no 8 • august 2007 • www.fisheries.org 391